• US stocks jumped and the Nasdaq hit an 18-month closing high on Friday as US employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month and consumers showed signs of shedding their penny-pinching ways. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 122.06 points, or 1.17%, to end at 10,566.20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 15.73 points, or 1.40%, to 1,138.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 34.04 points, or 1.48%, to 2,326.35

• Closer home, the government’s commitment towards reducing fiscal deficit, a thrust on infrastructure development, and plan to speed up disinvestment in the Union Budget for 2010-2011 has boosted market sentiment. Higher disposable income at the hands of individuals after the finance minister raised the tax slabs in the budget also opens up the possibility of some funds entering the market through the mutual funds route which augurs well for the secondary market.

• The government will announce the industrial output data for the month of January 2010 on Friday, 12 March 2010. The data is expected to be robust after the infrastructure sector output which accounts for 26% of the industrial output showed a growth of 9.4% in January 2010 from a year earlier. Industrial output grew 16.8% in December 2009.

• The fourth and the last installment of advance tax by India Inc due on 15 March 2010 will give a broad indication of fourth quarter earnings

• Asian stocks rose for the fourth time in five days after U.S. jobless claims fell and the Nikkei newspaper reported that the Bank of Japan may further loosen monetary . Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 rose 215.98 points, or 2.13%, to trade at 10,361.70.

• European stocks declined as Aviva Plc reported earnings that missed analysts` estimates, offsetting a gain in Schroders Plc. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 declined 6.05 points, or 0.11%, to end at 5,527.16.

• The US markets make out modest gains after some encouraging economic news ahead of the jobs report. Consumer stocks were the top performers on better-than-expected retail-sales reports. Earlier stocks had bobbled midmorning after a report showed an unexpected drop in pending-home sales.

• US Strength among financials helped the broader market shrug off a stronger dollar, which gained 0.7% against competing currencies. The Dow gained 47.38 or half a percent, to close at 10,444.14. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ also posted modest gains

• The government has chalked out a two-year plan to infuse around Rs 35,000 crore of capital in public sector banks to enable them to meet the economy’s credit requirement. The proposed capital infusion will be done in Tier-I capital funds, which will help them to maintain an 8% Tier-I capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

• FIIs had bought equities worth Rs 2311 crore in February 2010. FII inflow in the calendar year 2010 totaled Rs 4,358.90 crore (till 3 March 2010).

• Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, 3 March 2010 as metal and oil prices advanced and concerns about Greece’s budget problems eased. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose by between 0.07% to 0.45%.But, hina’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.07%.

• In US markets- stocks erased most of their gains on Tuesday 2 March 2010 as tech stocks retreated. The Dow Jones rose 0.02% to 10405.98. Nasdaq gained 0.32% to 2280.79 and the S&P 500 rose 0.23% to 1118.31 .

• Exports rose an annual 11.5% in January 2010 to $14.3 billion, the third consecutive rise after 13 straight months of decline, the government said on Tuesday. Imports rose 35.5% from a year earlier to $24.7 billion. The trade deficit stood at $10.4 billion in January compared with $5.4 billion a year earlier. Exports for April-January, the first 10 months of the 2009/10 fiscal year, were down 17.8% at $131.9 billion from the same period in the previous year.

Asian stocks have pared their gains after a positive start. US stocks climbed on Monday taking the Nasdaq and S&P 500 into positive zone for the year. AIG’s $35 billion asset sale and a some mergers in the pharma space brought some cheer. A Greek bailout package is being closely watched and could have a bearing on the market sentiment.

The consumption story is here to stay. With the budget putting in more money in the hands of the consumers, a lot of consumption-related stocks will see renewed action.

The EXIM numbers and sales numbers from auto and cement firms will be among the data points tracked today. An increase in customs and excise duties on petrol and diesel will bring in some loud protests for sure.

RIL could see some action following reports that it is on the verge of losing its bid for Lyondell-Basell. Meanwhile, reports add that it may now focus on the possible acquisition of Canada’s Value Creation.

Thursday turned out to be another session of consolidation where the benchmark indices traded in a narrow range throughout the day. BSE Sensex was unable to bounce back despite an upbeat Economic Survey. Even a sharp rise in India’s core sector growth was unable to cheer sentiment on Dalal-Street.

Production at India’s six key infrastructure industries rose by a strong 9.4% in January 2010 as against 2.2% in the same period last year, Commerce & Industry Ministry said in a statement today. Growth in India’s infrastructure sector stood at 6.4% in December 2009 and was at 6% in Nov. 2009 and 3.8% in Oct. 2009.

In addition, with the Railway Budget turning out to be more populist one and international equity markets not that encouraging, traders and the investors continued to remain cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2010-11.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended flat at 16,254 it hit an intra-day high of 16,329 and intra-day low of 16,167. While the NSE Nifty ended flat at 4,859.

Among the 30-components of Sensex, 16 ended in the negative terrain and 14 ended in the green. Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, JP Associates, NTPC and RCom were among the top losers. On the other hand, major gainers were L&T, Maruti, Hero Honda, Infosy and ACC.

Outside the frontline indices, the big losers in the broader market were Mphasis, Godrej Cons, Renuka Sugars and Jet Airways. On the other hand, gainers included GVK Power, Mundra Port, REC and Piramal Health.

Food price inflation yet again marginally fell to 17.58% in the week ended February 13, 2010 as against the same period last year. Primary Articles inflation fell to 15.84% in the week ended February 13, 2010 as against 16.23% in the same period last year. While, Fuel price inflation remained unchanged at 9.89% on a YoY basis.

Hathway Cable & Datacom, one of the largest Cable TV services company of India started trading at Rs250 per share as against its issue price of Rs240. However, the stock fell below its issue price and ended at Rs207, translating into a discount of 13.5%.

The company entered the capital market with 227,55,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a price band of Rs240 to Rs265 through 100% book building process. The IPO just managed to get subscribed by 1.36 times on the final day of offer. Most of the bids came at the lower end of the price band.

The QIBs portion of the issue received subscription of 1.43 times with bids for 16714925 equity shares against the offer of 11655000 equity shares.

The Non Institutional Investors portion of the issue received bids for 11895750 equity shares against the offer of 2775000 equity shares resulting in a subscription of 4.28times. The Retail Individual Investors portion of the issue received subscription of 0.2754 times with bids for 2292300 equity shares against the offer of 8325000 equity shares.

ICICI Bank raised interest paid on deposits of select maturities by 25 to 50bps. The move came after HDFC Bank raised some deposit rate by 0.50% to 1.50% from February 19, 2010. The new rates have come into effect from today, Rahul Virkar, the spokesman was quoted as saying.

Shares of ICICI Bank advanced 1.2% to end at Rs851. The scrip opened at Rs841 it touched an intra-day high of Rs857 and a low of Rs832 and recorded volumes of over 4.3mn shares on NSE.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank surged 3.2% to end at Rs729 after the National Stock Exchange in its circular announced that the bank would replace Grasim Industries in the S&P CNX Nifty Index.

On the other hand, shares of Grasim ended flat at Rs2660. The scrip opened at Rs2655 it touched an intra-day high of Rs2705 and a low of Rs2601 and recorded volumes of over 0.17mn shares on NSE.

Cadila Healthcare announced that the board of directors recommended to issue Bonus Equity Shares in the ratio of 1:2 of Rs5/- each held by the shareholders of the company on the record date to be fixed by the board of directors / committee of the board after the approval of the shareholders at a general meeting.

The stock gained 1.5% to end at Rs752. The scrip opened at Rs746 it touched an intra-day high of Rs765 and a low of Rs718 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on NSE.

Aurobindo Pharma received tentative approval to manufacture and market Nevirapine Tablets for Oral Suspension 50mg (NDA) from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

The stock ended slightly lower by 0.7% to end at Rs923. The stock opened at Rs917 hitting an intra-day high of Rs933 and a low of Rs917. It recorded volumes of over 0.15mn shares on NSE.

Shares of Gammon India erased early gains and ended lower by 1.6% at Rs212. The company announced that it has won an order worth Rs1.37bn from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The scrip opened at Rs223 it touched an intra-day high of Rs226 and a low of Rs210 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on NSE.

Promoters of Texmaco are reportedly planning to restructure its group companies i.e the engineering firm Texmaco and Texmaco Machines. It is looking to demerge Texmaco’s heavy engineering and steel foundry divisions and transfer the same to its wholly-owned subsidiary Texmaco Machines.

As per the scheme approved by an independent committee of directors, Texmaco’s heavy engineering & steel foundry business, along with its assets and liabilities, will get transferred to Texmaco Machines, an existing company.

The stock slipped 1.7% to end at Rs140, it opened at Rs141 it touched an intra-day high of Rs143 and a low of Rs134 and recorded volumes of over 2.3mn shares on NSE.

• The Dow Jones industrial average lost 18.97 points, or 0.18%, to close at 10,383.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 1.16 points, or 0.10%, to end at 1,108.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.84 points, or 0.08%, to close at 2,242.03.

• The market is likely to remain highly volatile this week with the focus being on the Railway Budget and the Union Budget 2010-11. Derivatives expiry on Thursday, 25 February 2010 is also likely to add volatility on the bourses.

• The Key benchmark indices erased almost all the gains after an early rally on Monday, 22 February 2010 as investors turned cautious ahead of the Union Budget 2010-2011 later this week. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 45.42 points or 0.28% to 16,237.05 on that day.

• As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 101.58 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 116.60 crore on Monday.

• US stocks closed higher after a see-saw session on Friday, 19 February 2010 as investors worried the eventual withdrawal of easy money will hurt Wall Street. Stocks on Wall Street closed out their best week of the year after a volatile session as investors weighed the Federal Reserve decision late Thursday to raise its discount rate for banks by one-quarter percentage point to 0.75 percent.

• Closer home the country needs to urgently import 3-5 million tonnes of white sugar and may ship in rice to calm food prices, a top aide of the prime minister said, signalling a tighter supply situation than previous estimates.

• The government should begin to lower its fiscal deficit in the budget set to be announced this week but should not cut capital spending on infrastructure, a top government panel said on Friday. The panel also projected economic growth of at least 8.2 % in 2010/11, from over 7.2 % forecast for the current fiscal year.

• The next major trigger for the stock market is the Union Budget 2010-2011 on 26 February 2010. Among the key issues, analysts and economists expect the Finance Minister to provide a road map for the introduction of the key direct and indirect tax reforms viz. the direct tax code (DTC) and the Goods & Services Tax (GST) in the Budget. The GST will enable the Indian corporate sector to get much-needed relief from a multiplicity of state and Central taxes. However, several critical issues need to be resolved before it can be put in place. The Finance Minister must utilize this opportunity to effect a smooth transition to this new system.

• The Finance Minster may project a lower fiscal deficit for 2010-11 based on higher revenue projections due to economic rebound. It remains to be seen if there are structural reforms to reduce the subsidy burden such as decontrol of petrol and diesel prices as recommended by the Kirit Parikh committee recently.

• Meanwhile, European ministers told Greece on Tuesday it may need to take further steps to bring a swollen debt under control and calm “irrational” financial markets, as wage cuts already announced by Athens sparked another strike.

• US stocks logged their best single-session percentage advance in three months on Tuesday, 16 February 2010 as buyers returned from an extended weekend. The sharp drop in the dollar, better than expected earnings, positive data and M&A activity boosted the market.

• Closer home, the wholesale price inflation could cross 10 % by end-March, depending how food prices behave in the next two weeks, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could tighten monetary policy even earlier than an April policy review chief statistician Pronab Sen said on Tuesday. The monthly index touched a 14-month high of 8.56 % in January 2010, leaping over the central bank’s end-March target of 8.5 %. The food articles index rose an annual 17.43 % in January, near an 11-year high. The manufacturing inflation was up at 6.55 % in January, in a sign that food inflation was impacting other sectors.

• There are expectations that the central bank may take some monetary action at its next policy review in April 2010 as industrial output growth also picked up pace, growing 16.8% in December from a year earlier.

• In stock specific news, Tata Steel on Tuesday said its consolidated net profit for the December quarter, which includes its UK unit Corus, fell 42%, although higher prices and increased volumes led to a rise in its operating profit margins.

• As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 385.72 crore and domestic funds sold shares worth Rs 452.74 crore on Tuesday.

US markets were closed on Monday 15 February 2010 for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Euro zone states urged Greece on Monday to announce more deficit-control steps by mid-March if needed, but said nothing new of last week’s pledge to defend the country if debt market pressures spin out of control. At talks among finance ministers, Greece asked the euro zone to bear with its fiscal plans as announced, and warned that last week’s offer of support by EU leaders may not be enough to stem a debt market squeeze on governments in the region.

The headline inflation in January accelerated to its fastest pace in more than a year, vaulting above the Reserve Bank’s end-March inflation forecast and putting more pressure on the bank to raise borrowing rates. The inflation data comes on the heels of a 16.8 % annual surge in industrial output in December.

The wholesale price index rose 8.56 % in January from a year earlier, its highest since November 2008 and accelerating from a 7.3 % gain in December, data showed on Monday. In January, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had raised the wholesale price inflation forecast for the current year to end-March to 8.5 % from 6.5 %. The government on Monday also revised up the headline number for November to 5.6 % from 4.8 %, a sign of even more inflationary pressure. The rise was driven by a 17.4 % jump in food prices, which rose because of weak monsoon rains and flooding. Inflation in manufacturing picked up to 6.55 % from about 5 % in December, a sign that inflationary pressures were spreading to other sectors of the economy.

Higher-than-expected government borrowing in the budget might hold off the central bank from aggressively raising rates as it would push up borrowing costs. The RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Saturday that government borrowing influences monetary policy.

The Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to raise borrowing rates at its April review after it surprised markets with a bigger-than-expected rise in banks’ cash reserve requirements in January. The government completed its market borrowing of Rs 4,51,000 crore ($97 billion) for the current fiscal year to end-March early this month and the RBI expects its gross market borrowing next year to be slightly higher than this year. Economic recovery in Asia has led to inflation resurfacing across the region, which has evoked stronger responses from the region’s central banks. China on Friday 12 February 2010 surprised global markets by lifting bank reserve requirements for a second time in two months. The RBI governor, however, has said the bank could not just focus on inflation given growth concerns and a central banker last week said only an “unprecedented, unwarranted” event.

Purchasing managers’ index showed last week manufacturing activity in January grew at its fastest pace in almost 1-1/2 years, boosted by a sharp rise in new export orders, while car sales in January rose an annual 32.3%.

The government has been reluctant to commit any rollback in fiscal stimulus but with the economy increasingly looking on a solid footing, there are expectations that it would lay out a roadmap for a stimulus withdraw in its 26 February 2010 annual budget. Last week, the finance minister said India’s economy would grow around 7.75% in the fiscal year ending March.

The government on Monday amended rules for foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) to allow issuers to revise their conversion price, a move aimed at reducing price uncertainty in a volatile equity market. The change will give issuers a window of 6 months to adjust the conversion price of their bonds to the higher of either the two weeks average or the six months average of the issuing company’s stock.The decision unveiled by the finance ministry applies to companies that issued FCCBs before 27 November 2008.

Among stocks news, India’s largest steel maker Tata Steel will announce its consolidated Q3 December 2009 result today.

The key benchmark indices fell on Monday, 15 February 2010 on worries the central bank may take more monetary action to check inflation after the latest data showed that the headline inflation jumped in January 2010. The BSE 30-share Sensex fell 114.24 points or 0.71% to 16038.35 on that day.

As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 195.99 crore and domestic funds sold shares worth Rs 113.97 crore on Monday.

• Asian stocks rose on Thursday on hopes European Union leaders will today, 11 February 2010, lay the groundwork for a financial rescue of Greece.

• Wall Street ended in the negative zone but off intra-day lows on Wednesday, 10 February 2010. Traders mulled a possible bailout of Greece. Reports suggest that France and Germany are expected to present a bailout plan at an EU summit today. Speculation about the Federal Reserve’s exit strategy after comments from Fed Chief Ben Bernanke also weighed on the market.

• Closer home, government’s gross market borrowing in the fiscal year 2010/11 may reportedly be within the current year’s target, allaying market fears of higher borrowing. The government has completed record gross borrowing of Rs 451000 crore ($97 billion) for the current fiscal year to fund a 16-year high fiscal deficit of 6.8 % of gross domestic product (GDP). Earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said the government’s gross market borrowing in the fiscal year to end-March 2011 might be slightly higher than the current fiscal year because of the redemptions. The government has said it hopes to return to the path of fiscal consolidation and intends to bring down the deficit to 5.5 percent of the GDP.

• The economy will grow faster in 2009/10 than the government has forecast, the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday, adding to expectations that a strong recovery would lead to tighter fiscal and monetary policy.

• As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 208.62 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 459.11 crore on Wednesday.

• Asian stocks were trading mixed today, 9 February 2010. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan were up by between 0.10% to 1.70%. However, indices in Singapore and Japan were down 0.44% and 0.68% respectively.

• US markets edged lower on Monday, 8 February 2010, as investors sold financial shares due to heightened concerns about the euro zone’s sovereign debt troubles, sending the Dow below 10,000 for the first time since November 2009.

• According to EPFR Global, that tracks foreign inflows, emerging market equity funds lost $1.6 billion in weekly withdrawals, the biggest outflows in 24 weeks.

• Markets across the globe have been under pressure recently following the recent European fiscal woes, rising US jobless claims and China holding back the bank lending also played the spoilsport.

• Back home, equities have been in a tailspin recently following unwinding of dollar carry trade, muted expectations in the run-up to the Union budget 2010-11 and concerns over valuations. Rising fears of possibility that the government may start to unwind its fiscal stimulus in the forthcoming budget also added to woes.

• Government on Monday, 8 February 2010, forecast its economic growth for the fiscal year ended March 2010 at 7.2%, as against 6.7% achieved in the previous fiscal, raising fears of possibility that the government may start to unwind its fiscal stimulus in the forthcoming budget. The advance estimates of the country’s gross domestic product released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) today forecasts a growth of 9.9% in services and 8.9% in manufacturing, the highest among the eight broader economic activities.

The key benchmark indices jumped during the 90-minutes special trading session held on Saturday, 6 February 2010, tracking a strong intraday rebound of US stocks on Friday, 5 February 2010. The US unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low in January 2010, data showed on Friday. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 124.72 points or 0.79%.

US markets had closed slightly higher on Friday, 5 February 2010 as US unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a sharp pullback in late trade to erase a 167-point drop in the final hour of trading on speculation the European Union may propose a solution for Greece’s budget deficit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10.05 points, or 0.1%, to 10012.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.69 points, or 0.74%, to 2141.12. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 3.08 points, or 0.29%, to 1066.19.

The US unemployment rate surprisingly fell to a five-month low of 9.7% in January 2010 and factory payrolls grew for the first time since 2007, hinting at a labour market recovery even though the economy lost 20,000 jobs.

Asian stocks fluctuated today as electronics makers fell on lower earnings, while commodity companies climbed after oil and metal prices increased. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea were down by between 0.07% to 0.49%. However indices in Singapore and Taiwan were up 0.29% and 0.15% respectively.

Back home, the Centre of Statistical Organization (CSO) will on Monday 8 February 2010 release the advance estimates of GDP growth for 2009-10. It will be based on the provisional data for the first half of the year and partial data for third quarter and no data on the fourth quarter, which contributes the highest to the annual Gross Domestic Product. The advance estimate will facilitate in the making of the Union Budget, to be presented in Lok Sabha on 26 February 2010.

The government will announce the industrial output data for the month of December 2009 on Friday, 12 February 2010. The industrial output rose 11.7% in November 2009.

Chairman of the prime minister’s economic advisory council C. Rangarajan on Friday said the government is no hurry to roll back economic stimulus measures in one go. He also said that efforts will be made in the budget later this month to lower the fiscal deficit. It has been pointed out repeatedly that the process of exit must be gradual, coordinated and must not be sudden, should not disrupt the economy and efforts will be made to bring down the fiscal deficit in the coming budget, Rangarajan said.

Fast food chain operator Jubilant FoodWorks, which raised Rs 329 crore through initial share sale last month, debut on the bourses today, 8 February 2010. The company would list over 6.36 crore shares on the bourses at an issue price of Rs 145 a piece, the upper end of the price band.

The follow on public offer of the government-run power major NTPC, the first mega public offer of 2010, managed to scrape through with the issue getting subscribed 1.2 times. The issue, through which the government is divesting 5% of its stake, at a floor price of Rs 201 a share, opened on 3 February 2010 and closed on 5 February 2010. At the floor price, the follow-on-public offer (FPO) is valued at Rs 8,286 crore.

As regards government’s divestment plan, Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will be the next Government- owned entity to come out with a follow-on public offer (FPO). Its 17.1-crore share FPO will open on 19 February 2010 and will close on 23 February 2010. This will be followed by NMDC’s FPO.

As per reports, in the next fiscal, the Government is likely to divest its stake in state-run firms such as Engineers India, Coal India through initial public offers (IPOs) and Power Grid and Sail through FPOs.

India can gradually start raising interest rates as Asia’s third-largest economy is among the first to recover after the global financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report published on 4 February 2010 on its website. India’s economy is one of the first in the world to recover and the central bank should take a gradual approach to ensure the recovery reaches its full potential, the IMF report said.

As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 28.45 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 32.48 crore on Saturday, 6 February 2010.

Following rising prices of potato and pulses, food inflation rose to 17.56% in the week ended 23 January 2010 from 17.40% in the previous week, government data released on Thursday showed. The inflation for primary articles, which include food and non-food items, marginally eased to 14.56% in the reporting week from 14.66% in the previous week. The fuel price index rose 5.88%

Pronab Sen, the country’s chief statistician, said on Wednesday the government should wait till May to roll back stimulus, as the strength of the demand recovery visible in available data may not be for real, pulling the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, away from a policy direction which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) desires.

The advance estimates on economic growth for the current fiscal ending March 2010 will be released on Monday. It will be based on the provisional data for the first half of the year and partial data for third quarter and no data on the fourth quarter, which contributes the highest to the annual Gross Domestic Product.

Metal stocks declined as metal prices fell on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday, 3 February 2010. However, cement pivotals ACC and Ambuja Cement gained ahead of their Q4 December 2009 earnings later in the day

The government will today unveil data on some wholesale price indices for the year through 23 January 2010 viz. the food price index, the primary articles index and the fuel price index.

Meanwhile Pronab Sen, the country’s chief statistician, said on Wednesday the government should wait till May to roll back stimulus, as the strength of the demand recovery visible in available data may not be for real, pulling the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, away from a policy direction which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) desires.

The advance estimates on economic growth for the current fiscal ending March 2010 will be released on Monday. It will be based on the provisional data for the first half of the year and partial data for third quarter and no data on the fourth quarter, which contributes the highest to the annual Gross Domestic Product.

Meanwhile, non-banking finance companies (NBFC) and housing finance companies (HFC) can no longer resort to short-term foreign currency borrowings. Citing prevailing macroeconomic conditions and improvements in domestic credit and liquidity conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has withdrawn the borrowing facility with immediate effect. The latest move by the RBI is seen as part of its efforts to gradually reverse its soft money policy.

In October-November 2008, the RBI had, as a temporary measure, allowed systemically important non-deposit taking NBFCs and HFCs to raise short-term foreign currency borrowings not exceeding 50% of their net-owned funds or $10 million, whichever was higher, for refinancing their short-term liabilities.

Meanwhile Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday reportedly said the government may put off divestment in power generation company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL) to the next fiscal.

Asian shares declined today after Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell in December and commodity prices declined. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Singapore were down by between 0.11% to 1.08%. However, Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.10%.

US markets snapped a two-day winning streak on Wednesday, 3 February 2010, after tepid reports on employment and the services sector. The key indices ended on a mixed note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.30 points or 0.26% to 10,270.55, the S&P 500 index slipped 6.04 points or 0.55% to 1,097.28. However the Nasdaq Composite rose marginally by 0.85 points to 2,190.91

In US economic news, the ISM Non-Manufacturing index rose to 50.5 in January from 49.8 in December, but fell short of expectations. On the jobs front, ADP reported that 22,000 jobs were lost from private payrolls in January.

Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US markets on Thursday, 4 February 2010.

Closer home, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has decided to hold a special trading session on Saturday, 6 February 2010, as the exchange is testing upgraded trading systems. Trading will begin at 11:00 IST and end at 12:30 IST.

At 09:15 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 84.26 points or 0.51% to 16,411.79. The index fell 84.93 points at the day’s low of 16,411.12 in early trade. The Sensex rose 12.17 points at the day’s high of 16,508.22 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 27.30 points or 0.55% to 4904.55

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 722 shares advanced as compared with 573 that declined. A total of 41 shares remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 498 crore by 09:25 IST

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 27 declined while only 3 of them managed gains. HDFC (down 1.79%), Jaiprakash Associates (down 1.42%), and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.06%), edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Metal stocks declined after LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, lost 2.53% on Wednesday, 3 February 2010.

India’s largest private sector steel maker by sales Tata Steel fell 1.90% to Rs 589 and was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

Sterlite Industries (down 1.81%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.73%), National Aluminium Company (down 0.72%), Sesa Goa (down 1.17%), and Hindustan Zinc (down 0.82%), edged lower

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 0.10% to Rs 1033.50. The company’s net profit rose 15.77% to Rs 4008 crore on 89.77% surge in total income to Rs 57364 crore in Q3 December 2009 over Q3 December 2008. RIL said the results had been reworked and restated to include figures from Reliance Petroleum, which it absorbed last year. The company announced the Q3 result during market hours on 22 January 2010.

India’s largest power utility firm by sales NTPC fell 0.31%. The company’s large follow-on public offer (FPO) saw good response on Wednesday, 3 February 2010. The issue was subscribed 0.77 times on day one. The institutional segment was oversubscribed on day one following heavy bidding from domestic institutional investors (DIIs). DIIs excluding mutual funds, put in bids for 31.15 crore shares compared to 20.4 crore shares reserved for the qualified institutional buyers (QIB) segment as a whole. Foreign funds put in bids for 45.01 lakh shares.

Most bids were at Rs 209 per share. The government has fixed the benchmark price for the proposed divestment of government stake at Rs 201 per share.

Cement pivotals ACC (up 0.58%), and Ambuja Cement (up 0.29%), gained ahead of their Q4 December 2009 earnings today, 4 February 2010.

India’s largest oil exploration firm by sales Oil & Natural Gas Corporation gained 1.78% to Rs 1153.35 and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. The stock rose on hopes on lower subsidy burden after a report from an expert group headed by Kirit Parikh on Tuesday suggested freeing petrol and diesel prices as well as raising LPG rates by Rs 100 a cylinder and kerosene prices by Rs 6 per litre. The Parikh committee’s suggestions, submitted to petroleum minister Murli Deora, would see a hike of Rs 3 per litre in petrol and Rs 3-4 per litre in diesel if implemented.

• The government fixed the benchmark price for the proposed divestment of government stake at Rs 201 per share. NTPC kickstarts what is expected to be a large fund raising exercise by Indian firms in calendar 2010 from share sales. A section ofthe market is concerned that a glut in share sales will soak liquidity from the secondary market. As per reports, Indian firms may raise $30 billion from share sale in 2010, led by government stake sales and initial public offers from power and property firms. Indian companies raised about $20 billion from share sales in calendar 2009.

• On the macro front, manufacturing activity in January 2010 grew at its fastest pace in almost 1-1/2 years, driven by a sharp rise in new export orders that are supporting a recovery in the industrial sector, a survey showed on Monday. The HSBC Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), based on a survey of 500 Indian companies, rose to 57.7 in January, its strongest reading since August 2008 and up from 55.6 in December.

• Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday after U.S. pending home sales increased and commodity prices gained.

• In US markets on Tuesday after a shaky start, the Dow logged its second straight triple-digit gain, the S&P 500 jumped back to the 1100 mark. Some encouraging earnings report, positive pending home sales data and strong auto sales from Ford led the upmove. Ford’s sales rose 35% in January 2010

• Closer home, as per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 455.01 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 41.93 crore on Tuesday.

• US markets rose on Monday after a positive manufacturing report.

• Closer home, strong auto sales in January 2010 and the nation’s exports showing positive growth for the second month in a row in December 2009, may also boost investor sentiment.

• The manufacturing in January 2010 grew at its fastest pace in almost 1-1/2 years, driven by a sharp rise in new export orders that are supporting a recovery in the industrial sector.

• Asian markets rose on Tuesday after a positive manufacturing report in US. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan rose by between 0.54% to 1.88%.

• In US markets, the Dow kicked off February with a triple digit gain after some strong earnings report and a positive manufacturing report. The Dow added 118.20 points, or 1.2%, to 10,185.53. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 15.32 points, or 1.4%, to 1,089.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 23.85 points, or 1.1%, to 2,171.20.

• As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 494.66 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 199.83 crore on Monday.

The US economy surprised forecasters by powering ahead at an annualised 5.7% in the fourth quarter – the fastest pace of growth that it has shown for six years.

The 30 share index, Sensex lost 501.7 points, or 2.98%, to 16,357.96 for the week ended Jan. 29, 2010. On the other hand, the broad based NSE Nifty plunged 153.95 points, or 3.06%, to 4,882.05 in the same period.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.52% to end at 10,067.33 while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.45% to close at 2,147.35.

“Now as the result session is almost over so no major trigger in the short term is there. Therefore markets are likely to be guided by global cues. Foreign funds flow, a key driver of rally are reversing now as there is a large pressure seen in the exchange traded funds raised for investment in emerging economies,“ said the stock broker SMC while commenting on the market outlook.

However, in the short term money raising by government through disinvestment may cap the reversal of foreign flow. Trend of Nifty & Sensex is down now. Nifty faces resistance between 4,950-5,000 and Sensex between 16,650-17,000 levels, it added.

• The government will today unveil data on some wholesale price indices for the year through 16 January 2010 viz. the food price index, the primary articles index and the fuel price index.

• Among prominent results, Cipla and Tata Steel will announce their quarterly result today.

• The Reserve Bank of India need not take monetary measures to contain food inflation, the farm minister Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday. Sharad Pawar also said the wholesale sugar prices have already come down and retail prices may also follow suit soon.

• The marketmen expect 50 basis point increase in the cash reserve ratio (CRR), or the proportion of deposits banks must keep with the Reserve Bank in Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s quarterly monetary policy review scheduled to be announced on Friday, 29 January 2010.

• Asian stocks gained on Thursday after Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at record low.

• US stocks eked out gains led by tech stocks and financials on Wednesday, which rebounded amid relief that the Fed’s statement offered no surprises. Stocks had languished for much of the day amid some disappointing earnings outlooks and an unexpected drop in home sales but recovered in the late trade.